POLISH ARCHBISHOP REFERS CHILD ABUSE NEGLIGENCE CASE TO VATICAN

18/05/2020

İrem GÖL -TDO- The Polish Catholic Church’s most senior archbishop notified the Vatican on Saturday of a Polish bishop accused of shielding priests known to have sexually abused children. This referral will be a trial for the procedures introduced last year by Vatican to investigate bishops allegedly turning a blind eye to child sex abuse. The Vatican is expected to appoint an investigator to the case.

Archbishop Wojciech Polak called on to launch proceedings following the release of a documentary on the subject on Saturday. The film tells the story of two brothers who seek to confront a priest who allegedly abused them as children. It alleges that a senior bishop, Edward Janiak, knew about the allegations for years but failed to take any action.

Wojciech Polak said: “The film shows that protection standards for children and adolescents in the Church were not respected.” He added: “I ask priests, nuns, parents and educators not to be led by the false logic of shielding the Church, effectively hiding sexual abusers. We do not allow for the hiding of these crimes.”